Ever walked into a place to eat and wondered if you should be walking out? This list was comprised by the Region of Durham on all of the convictions related to food premises charges.

Dishonourable mention to some unexpected locations. Looks like there are a few pubs that we won’t be visiting in 2016. Stone Corner in Pickering and Boston Pizza in Whitby were surprises. Not so shocked about Silver Spoon in Ajax.

We found out about Farm Boy from a client last week and decided to check it out this past weekend.

Located in Whitby at the corner of Taunton and Garden in the Taunton Gardens Plaza we walked in with an expectation that it was going to be your typical grocery store experience… nope we were wrong. We were greeted at the door by Lulu the Cow and a farm girl in oversized denim coveralls with pigtails saying hello to customers as they trickled through - fun for kids and funnier for adults. Lulu greets customers every Saturday from 10 am to noon.

There are samples all throughout the store which is great if you skipped breakfast like us! Everything is fresh, locally sourced, healthy and overall an enjoyable shopping experience.

Here’s what will you find at Farm Boy:

Abundant varieties of high quality fresh produce, including organic and local, when in season.

Hundreds of organic, natural and gluten free products.

Fresh prepared, Farm Boy Kitchen™ meals, made from scratch with wholesome ingredients and no preservatives.

50-foot fresh salad and hot bars.

Hormone-free, fresh organic beef, pork and chicken.

Canada AAA Beef from Alberta marbled and aged for tenderness and great flavour.

Eco-friendly, sustainable fresh seafood.

300 local farmstead, artisan, international and Canadian award-winning cheeses.

150 fresh deli meats cut to order including turkey, beef and pork roasts, marinated overnight and slowly roasted without preservatives.

The Farm Boy chain has been around for over 30 years. Starting in 1981 in Cornwall Ontario with a 300 sq. ft. store by Jean-Louis and Colette Bellemare. The latest Whitby store is an impressive 28,000 sq. ft. Talk about growth!

They have 18 stores in Ontario with one soon opening in Kitchener in 2016

They were selected by the Alcohol and Gaming Commission to be one of the grocery stores in Ontario that sell Beer! CEO Jeff York talks about the addition “Our customers have come to enjoy the experience of finding high quality, artisanal products made fresh in Ontario in our stores, so naturally we will apply this same approach with beer. Introducing unique, and specialty craft beer is a natural extension of our business and will compliment the shopping experience giving customers another great reason to shop in our stores.” (Source: www.farmboy.ca/farm-boy-to-offer-in-three-ontario-food-stores)

Let’s talk about the most important thing, PRICE. When people hear, healthy, locally sourced, organic they automatically think its $$$. Farm Boy is totally reasonable and affordable for families large and small. They sell all their milk, which is Organic by the way in recyclable glass bottles for $3.99 with a $1 deposit. We walked out with 5 loaded bags totally just under $85. Amazing.

If you are looking for a grocery store with products with ingredients that you can pronounce, produce that is fresh and locally grown then Farm Boy is the place for you! Their motto on their website reads; “The best foods. The best shopping experience. Making life better. This is our vision.” Mission accomplished if we say so ourselves.